In Defense of Frying a Turkey

By Bernard Mooney

I have just read another article (i.e. hit piece) that slams the frying of a whole turkey as tantamount to tossing an incendiary device into your home.  It need not be.  You can deep fry a turkey quite safely.

On Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, my son and I were tasked to provide two turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner at a family function in San Francisco.  We had to feed 25 people.  We had traveled to San Francisco a few days before thanksgiving, so we had to start from scratch in terms of supplies and equipment.  Fortunately, we were staying in a rented private home that had a spacious driveway.  Another member of the family who lives permanently in San Francisco provided the birds themselves.

The rented home had an upgraded kitchen but only one stove.  The basic principles of arithmetic pointed us toward baking one turkey in the conventional manner in the stove and the other we would deep fry in the driveway.  It really is not a guy thing to bake turkeys for ten or twelve hours continuously. Especially when there was an NFL game and we had five cases of California wine chilling on the deck.

Contrary to all the hype, we discovered that you can simply follow the clearly worded instructions that are actually etched into all commercially sold turkey fryers and remain safe.  Specifically, the instructions tell you to use three gallons of oil (canola, vegetable or peanut) heated to a temperature between 350 – 400 degrees.  The instructions that came with the fryer clearly stated that the size of the turkey should be 18 pounds or less and that it should be completely defrosted before being placed into the heated oil.  

A turkey fryer is basically a chunky Bunsen burner.  We bought ours for $59 at a local Home Depot.  It took about a half hour to assemble all of the heat deflectors and splash guards that help keep it safe.  Ours was a basic propane gas type.  We heated three gallons of oil to 375 degrees and lowered a 14 pound defrosted turkey into the oil using the handle and frame provided for that purpose.  We left it submerged in the heated oil for 47 minutes ((3 X 14) + 5).  

No fire, flame or explosion ensued.  The result was a delicious, moist and very tasty bird.

We were able to put the heated oil to a good secondary use as well.  We dropped a few batches of thinly sliced fresh potatoes in to create some great kettle cooked chips.

Munich July 2011

 By Bernard Mooney

I traveled from Arlington, VA to Crete via London and Munich. The Heathrow layover was only long enough to grab a cup of coffee - a very expensive, mediocre cup of coffee at that.  The layover in Munich, however,  was arranged so as to provide a little more time (24 hrs).  I took bag and baggage on the Schnell Bahn from the new Franz Josef Airport into the center of Munich.  I grabbed a cheap room at one of the hundred or so hotels around the main train station.  I then spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening wandering around downtown Munich.  I stopped every few hours and drank some great bier and ate some great wursts and schnitzels. I had not been in Munich since Christmas 2000.

Great local fish and wine

A quick stop for lunch on the water near Sitia, Crete.  Nice breeze of the water made it very comfortable in the shade.  Not sure of the species of fish, but it was delicious and cooked perfectly.  The wine was good, not too dry or sweet, had a little of that green apple after taste.

 

Ellie Tasting "fresh" Cretan wine!

Stopped on our way back from Elofonisi.  A nice woman had us down to taste a couple versions of her wine then she filled a couple water bottles with wine from the vat and off we went.  6 euros per liter!

 

Ririka's Pastitsio

Was the best I have had!  Nicely blended mix of flavors with the top layer nicely browned and not heavy. 

 

Generic info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastitsio

 

Ririka is Ellie’s Aunt and lives in downtown Iraklion, Crete, Greece.

 

From Evernote:

Carol's Birthday Menu Clipped from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoked-Bluefish-Pate-355882

Carol's Birthday Menu

Friday 13, May

Grilled salmon on cedar boards

Grilled Marinated Flank steak

Grill corn

Roasted red peppers

Tortillas

Dad's salsa and Guacamole

Smoked Salmon mousse

Sean' mousse

Grilled salmon on cedar boards

Soak cedar boards for a few hours prior to cooking

Place celery,carrots, lovage and cilantro stalks on boards (to keep from sticking)

Place salmon on celery carrot mixture

Season with oil, salt, pepper and maybe lemon

Top with thin sliced onions

Put on Grill for 30-45 mins. At very low heat

Grilled marinated flank steak

Marinade - lime juice, cilantro, lovage, salt and pepper

Before putting on grill, top with a little coffee and paprika

Roasted red peppers

Roast 3 peppers on grill whole (not cut) until  charred on the outside

Let stand for 10 mins (to continue steaming)

Peel and cut into slices

Place slices,some of the pepper juice, finely diced garlic (1 medium sized clove) and oil into a bowl

Mix and let stand for 20-30 mins.

Smoked salmon mousse

This is a variation on the below recipe, substituting salmon for blue fish and adding heavy cream to lighten it.

From the "Legal Seafoods Cookbook"

1 pound smoked bluefish fillets (Salmon)

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup butter (No butter)

2 tablespoons Cognac

3 tablespoons minced onion (shallots)

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt (no salt, smoked salmon was salty enough)

Freshly milled black pepper

Chopped toasted walnuts or hazelnuts (optional)(Nope)

Puree the bluefish, cream cheese, butter, and Cognac in a food processor. Add the onion, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Pulse the machine on and off until the ingredients are combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoked-Bluefish-Pate-355882#ixzz1MF3rbtYj

From Evernote:

Mother's day brunch

Menu:

Spanish Tortilla with mayonnaise trio

Smoked Salmon

Smoked Pork Shoulder (as pulled pork)

Grilled Asparagus

Sliced Grilled Chicken over greens

Mimosas or Bellinis

Fresh Fruit

Preparation:

Tortilla

-Fried potatoes seasoned with paprika (Saturday night)

-Potatoes layered into cake pans with egg, milk season mixture (maybe add chives in layers?) (Sunday morning)

-Bake at 300 for 2 hours Sunday morning

-cut and place on platter with fresh pecorino on top, garnished with fresh flat leaf parsley

Smoked Salmon

-salt cure over night (Friday night)

-smoke for 3-4 hours at cool side of smoker (Saturday day)

-Refrigerate, slice and serve Sunday with cream cheese, capers and diced onions

-Serve with toast squares (toast quartered) (Sunday morning)

Smoked Pork Shoulder

-Rub shoulder with spice mixture (Saturday morning)

-Smoke shoulder on warm side of smoker for 3-5 hours

-Serve with rolls, bbq sauce, coleslaw and vinegar (Sunday)

Grilled Asparagus

-Dress with oil salt and pepper

-Grill for 10-20 minutes (Sunday?)

-Serve room temp or cold

Grilled Chicken

-Dress with lemon, oil, salt and pepper

-Grill for 15-30 mins. (Sat. or Sun. ?)

Mimosas/Bellinis

-Orange and Peach juice needed (cold)

-Champgne  and glasses

Fresh Fruit

-Strawberries, etc. (What's in season check market Saturday morning)

Bar Tab Delay

The pilot of a Jet Blue flight from Washington DC (DCA) to Boston (BOS) had to make an odd announcement to passengers while they waited for the plane to push back from the jetway the other day.  The pilot publicly advised all aboard that 'a group of six people on this flight have left a bar tab open at the Samuel Adams tavern on the concourse.  All of us aboard would appreciate it if someone went and took care of it, so we can be cleared to depart'.  This is one of the funniest things i have heard in over 1 million miles of air travel.

Dad's Quick and Spicy Salsa

Ingredients:

Three medium size tomatoes
One-half of a large onion
Two large Jalapenos
One large clove of garlic
One teaspoon of salt
Juice of one half lemon

Preparation:

Chop tomato, onion, jalapeno and garlic and place all into a food processor (or blender).
Add salt and lemon juice to mixture.  Run processor on puree for less than one minute.
Sprinkle a little fresh, crushed cilanthro and serve.  Makes about 1 quart.
Any good tortilla chip will work as a dipping tool.

Chicago

A friend asked for my ideas on what to see in Chicago, by no means am I an expert, but here is my two cents for a quick few days…

The architectural river tour is actually interesting.  The pier is pretty cool also (a little carnival like, but interesting)  We took a boat ride off the pier that was ok (they serve beer if I remember correctly).  Go to the bar at the top of Hancock tower, worth the view.  We had dinner there, but that wasn't as memorable as the view.  If you have 3-6 hours to kill, rent a car (maybe zip car or similar) and head out to oak park, "ground zero" for Frank Lloyd Wright.  His house tour is worth the time, a short walk in the neighborhood has several other examples of his work.  A short drive away is unity temple (church he designed) that will let you take a tour if church stuff isn't going on.  Even if you can't get inside a walk around the outside is interesting.  Back to the city, the park is interesting, gehry did the performance pavilion & the anish capour (sp?) sculpture is really cool, giant polished stainless steel bean you can walk under.  If you want to try a funky cajun restaurant in an office building, heaven on seven is the place.  Look it up or ask the hotel, they will know where it is (the original one).  We hit a blues club one not that was interesting, but not quite the rock scene.

Pics from our trip in September 2005  http://www.flickr.com/photos/spmooney/sets/72157594291256134/

Mirepoix risotto

Mirepoix with a half stick of butter and some olive oil.

Add a little white wine and then "toast" the risotto, before adding water, on medium heat, stir in risotto to let it start absorbing the concentrated flavors.  In this case I threw in some left over fresh spinach that wasn't enough for a salad.

Added stock in 3 pours and once the stock is absorbed, turn heat off and add chunks of feta.

Served in a pasta bowl with fresh pecorino shaved on top.

Enjoy!

1717 Porchetta

9 lbs. of Berkshire Belly & 6 lbs. or Durock Loin, cross scored inside and out some rub can penetrate.

 Onions, carrots, celery & herbs from the garden (cilantro, lovage, rosemary, lavender, oregano, tyme, etc...) blended together with a little olive oil to from a paste.

 Paste is then rubbed on meat side of belly and all over loin.  Belly is then wrapped around loin (fat side out) and bound with twine.

 Large metal skewer is put through center of loin and set up on the grill rotisserie roughly in the center, so heat can be controlled from outside, inside or both.  Center burners are usually left off to prevent flare up.  Turn on rotisserie for 3-4 hours, checking occasionally.

Let sit for 10 mins, then slice and serve.  Can be served by itself or with bread as a sandwich with mayonnaise (or mayo blended with siracha and or paprika).  We served with orange rice mixed with grilled corn.

The facts on Porchetta here.

Happy coooking! 

From Evernote:

Anne & Mike's 8 nights in Italy (on going posts)

Some close friends asked our opinion about an 8 night stay in Italy, landing in Rome to start and ending up on the way to Geneva on the 9th day.  They are excited to see sites, but more interested in "experiencing" Italy.  For efficiency sake, I will address this in a few/several posts.

Tonight's research is looking at the trip from a macro level.  Main sites to hit as they relate to their interest and logistics in getting to Geneva to see friends before they head home.  They arrive in Rome, and plan 2 days there.  One could spend a month in Rome and not really experience Rome, so 2 nights is enough for a taste (and to realize you need to come back).  They are excited about Tuscany (rightfully so), given their appreciation for the food and wine attributed to it.  There stay will be late May into June, so the tourist season will be just getting started and the city filling up.  I have suggested they train to Florence and rent a car and drive to Sienna, 50 miles/1.5 hours.  They would then base themselves there for 4 days and take day trips to possible locales as San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Volterra, Orvieto & other places I don't even know of...  More on that later.

Some overall logistics relating to Sienna/Florence.  Below are current Trenitalia information relating to travel between respective cities (travel time) and their current pricing (in Euros, first class/second-class):

Rome to Florence - 1:35 - 63/45

Florence to Venice - 2:03 - 60-/43

Florence to Milan - 1:45 - 71/55

Florence to Como - 3:43 - 77/57

Como to Geneva - 6:30 - ?/?

Venice to Geneva - 6:55 - 152/99

Milan to Geneva - 3:50 - 113/72

More on this later.....

From Evernote:

Arugula Salad for the Bodnars

-2 types of Arugula from our garden, just enough for 4 adults

-fist full of pine nuts toasted in olive oil with a pinch of coarse salt

-3/4 of a small onion

-fresh corn cut from one cob

-1/2 of an apple (your choice of variety)

-dressed with grapefruit balsamic vinegar and hawian black salt (both from the Filling Station, Chelsea Market, NYC)

The corn made it!

From Evernote:

New Zealand - Meritage

Craggy Range - Te Kahu - 2009

Good, inexpensive($36 at restaurant) New Zealand french blend, cab, cab franc, merlot....  Had at founding farmers in DC

Easter Goat

Sorry no images for this one.

Ellie's parents got some some local goat so I am preparing in a way Sean showed me a few weeks ago (we did lamb shanks that time).

I prepared a large mirepiox and placed lamb leg and back (?) in mirepiox and filled the shallow le cruset almost to the top, getting the goat to be about half submerge in mirepiox stock mixture. I then covered tightly with tin foil and we roasted for about 3-4 hours. Goat was soft and delicious, falling off the bone. I took the mirepiox stock mixture and blended it to form a light sauce for the meat and roasted potatoes.

Posted using my mobile device

Location:Ocean City, MD

Purple Pickled Eggs

By Bernard Mooney

These have been a popular snack or treat among Irish families for many years, especially around Easter and other holidays.

Ingredients:

12 eggs – hard boiled and peeled

Two 14.5 ounce cans of canned beets

Apple cider vinegar

One empty large jar

Directions:

Hard boil and peel the eggs.  Eggs peel easiest and most evenly when their temperature is reduced very quickly after boiling.  Drain both cans of beets of their juice and measure it.  It will be about two cups.  Pour the beet juice in the large empty jar.  Measure out an equal amount of vinegar and pour it into the jar also.  Stir the mixture and add about 6 slices of beet for coloration.

Place the jar of eggs in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  After this time the purple color should have saturated the white of the egg, but not the yoke. This is the sign that they are done and ready to serve.

Special Note:  These eggs can be sliced and put on top of salads for color.  Deviled eggs can also be made from them, or just slice and serve.

Dinner tonight

The beginning: left over grilled shrimp and spinach fusilli.

Heres where we went:

Equal parts oil and butter in a pan (about 2 tbs each)
3 medium shallots
1 small potato, finely diced (less than 1/4" cubes)
Cook for 10 mins over med-high heat

then splash of wine to deglaze
then 1 cup of pasta water
add leftover shrimp

bring to a boil and then let simmer for 20 mins or longer at lower heat

20 mins before serving
add capers, chunked fresh white fish (cod in this case) and zuccini
add more white wine, bring to a boil and then serve over aldente pasta (spinach fusilli in this case)

I found it best served in a pasta bowl and a glass of white wine (7.99 whole foods piquepol in this case).

In the words of one of my cooking tv idols "happy coooking"

Christmas Pig

> Christmas 2010 at 1717
>

Italian Hot Dog

Angel making this New Jersey specialty!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_hot_dog

Thanks,

Scott

first post among many

Setting up a new blog to capture and share information that we encounter  in our travels.We travel quite a bit around the US and abroad. Throughout our travels we actively seek out interesting opportunities for new and different foods and the next great wine.